Momokuri – 15 + 16

It’s a pool episode…another opportunity for Yuki and Momo to get a little closer. But after Norika inadvertently makes her feel weird about showing so much skin, Yuki covers up and sits alone. Momo thinks she’s caught his cold, but when she tells him that’s not the case, he starts blowing up a beach ball for them to play with.

This unlocks Yuki’s obsessive side, as she’s so preoccupied with the fact she’s batting a ball of Momo’s exhaled breath that she breaks the cheap ball, treating it with far more reverence than Momo, who’s content to buy another.

When Momo is directed by his friend to hold Yuki’s hand as he escorts her to the bus stop, Yuki overprepares by dousing her hand in sanitizer spray. There’s no need for her to act so deferential; he wants to hold her hand.

More than that, he doesn’t want their day to end with her maturely saying goodbye as she boards the bus. Instead, he grabs her hand and takes the lead, surprising even Yuki.

Momo really wants Yuki to understand he’s not just a cute animal, but a man, and believes being more assertive is the key. The only thing is, Yuki is so into Momo, his attempts to get closer end up overwhelming her, to the point she’s involuntarily spinning in her swing until she’s dizzy and collapses in his arms; no doubt an ideal outcome for both of them.

Later, while studying with Yuki, Norika discovers her hidden stash of gifts Momo has given her, but also an obscene amount of used items he has cast away. In effect, it’s a cabinet full of junk that Yuki is placing far too much importance on, so Norika walks out of the room returns with bags, and starts cleaning up.

Even once the stuff is bagged with tight knots, Yuki still wants to get inside to retrieve her “treasures.” This kinda stuff in Momokuri walks a fine line, but the point is made that her love of Momo is so intense, sometimes she thinks she’s going crazy, an assertion Norika can’t argue with.

Purging her stash, and letting the stuff that doesn’t matter go, are necessary steps to tempering what is right on the line of being an unhealthy obsession. Love the guy, not his refuse.